Elliot rallies for victory

Homecoming is traditionally a festive event, but the Elliot
Christian Eagles took things to another level with an exciting
75-70 victory Friday over the Stockton Christian Eagles.

Nearly two minutes expired in the first quarter before Ryan
McGladdery scored Elliot's first basket as the Eagles managed only
10 first quarter points and found themselves in an unexpected
fight.

Things didn't look much brighter in the second quarter as
Stockton Christian started the period with two consecutive
three-point shots from guard Chris Rozalez and took a 31-24 lead
into halftime.

The Eagles found themselves in an even larger hole as Stockton's
Justin Johnson grabbed one of his 16 rebounds and scored two of his
game-high 18 points midway through the third quarter to give
Stockton a 45-35 lead.

Sparked by great defensive pressure and key steals from guard
Chris Kimble, Elliot ended the quarter with a 10-0 run to knot the
game at 45.

Matt Darby's jumper to start the fourth quarter capped off a
12-0 run by Elliot that gave the home Eagles the lead for the first
time since early in the second quarter.

"We've fought all year and we knew we couldn't afford to lose
this one," said Elliot head coach Mark Cook.

Both teams exchanged baskets until McGladdery, who finished the
game with 16 points, hit his second three-point shot. It was
followed by Kimble's acrobatic layup that pushed Elliot's lead to
68-61 with 1:40 remaining.

Stockton didn't back down as it scored five quick points to cut
the lead back to two, but it didn't come any closer.

Johnathan Koehler's layup sealed the victory for Elliot, which
improved to 12-5 overall and 6-1 in Mountain Valley conference
play.

"We're looking forward to Calvary now, we feel we are ready for
the challenge," Cook said.

Elliot takes on Calvary Temple on Friday.

Matt Keil added 13 points and five rebounds for Elliot, which
outscored Stockton 19-6 from the free throw line.